LOGINLucas’s POV We’re just about ready to head out when Clover steps over to me, her expression calm but focused.“Hey, Luke,” she says, glancing back briefly. “Bennett and Terrence are gonna take me to the hospital. We’ll follow you since you drove… if that’s cool?”I nod immediately. “Yeah, of course. I thought you were riding with me, but… I get it. Security.”She nods right back. “Exactly.”Before I can say anything else, Zay scoffs from behind her.“Well, I drove my car here,” he says, already stepping forward, “and I’m not letting you go with them alone. So I’ll just ride with you.”I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t laugh.This man is trying so hard.Real hard.Clover turns to him, reaches for his hand like it’s nothing, and shrugs.“That’s fine. You can ride with us.”Zay just… blinks at her.“...Oh. Okay.”I shake my head, smirking. “Zay, did you really think she was gonna say no? You’d basically be turning down her security.”He grins like he just won something. “Let me g
Clover’s POV We’re all still sitting there, tension thick, trying to figure out our next move and how the hell we’re supposed to get Emily back, when everything shifts in a matter of seconds.Bennett’s phone rings.Lucas’s right after.They both glance down at their screens at the same time.Bennett answers first, already stepping away, his voice low as he walks out of the room.Lucas, though?He frowns slightly at the unknown number before answering.“Hello?”A pause.Then...“Luke.”Everything in the room stops.Lucas exhales like the air got knocked out of him. “M.”My heart jumps straight into my throat.Everyone’s looking at him now.“Where are you?” he asks quickly.“I’m at the police station,” Emily says, her voice clear through the phone. “I got away.”Just like that...The weight of the world lifts off his shoulders.I watch it happen in real time.Lucas drops back onto the couch, running a hand over his face as he exhales hard.“Did they hurt you?” he asks, voice tight. “D
Daisy’s POV I run my hand through my hair, already irritated as hell, pacing back and forth across this cramped ass one bedroom apartment.“Can y’all shut the fuck up for two seconds and let me think?” I snap, glaring at my so-called real parents.Britney throws her hands up. “How in the hell do we do this, Daisy? How do we get her? That girl got security on top of security. Not just the two she's always with, there’s a whole team following her!”I stop pacing, exhaling hard.“Fuck…” I mutter, dragging my hand down my face. “Damn it. How the hell do we get this bitch?”And more importantly, how did she catch on?The room feels smaller by the second, all of us talking over each other, tension thick as hell...Then my phone starts ringing.I snatch it up quick. “Hello?”A pause.Then...“Daisy… um, yeah…”My stomach tightens instantly.“Hunter,” I cut in, my voice going flat. “What happened?”Another pause.“The police came… and Emily’s gone.”Silence.Then I snap.“Hunter, what the fu
Third-Person POVEmily paced slowly inside the small cage, her eyes scanning every inch of it again.Six feet tall… maybe four feet wide.Just enough space to stand, turn, and feel trapped.She let out a long sigh, dropping onto the small stool they’d given her.“Well… at least you gave me somewhere to sit,” she muttered, before looking up at the two idiots guarding her. “But I got a question… how the hell am I supposed to use the bathroom?”The two men looked at each other like they hadn’t thought that far ahead.“Uh… there’s a bathroom,” one of them said finally. “We’ll have to take you.”Emily raised a brow. “Oh, okay. And how exactly does that work? Because… I have to go. Like, now.”The bigger one sighed, already annoyed. “It’s a single bathroom. We’ll let you out, take you there, then bring you back.”Emily rolled her eyes. “Great. Let’s go then.”Her gaze lingered on them as they moved closer.One was short, maybe five-five, five-six, and thin as hell, stringy blonde hair stiff
Clover’s POV Clover moved quickly through her office, grabbing her things without hesitation.“Clover!”She turned at the sound of her name, Zade rushing out of his office, concern already written all over his face.“What’s going on?”She didn’t slow down.“Emily’s missing,” she said, her voice tight. “We’re heading to the Blackwood main hub. Bennett’s team is pulling surveillance from every camera in the area. They’re also filing a missing persons report.”She exhaled sharply.“I don’t even know if the police will take it yet. It hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet.”Zade’s expression hardened instantly.“Okay,” he said. “So when are we leaving?”Clover blinked at him. “Now.”He nodded once. “Alright. Give me two minutes.”He disappeared into his office and, just as quickly, came back out, coat on, phone in hand.He fell into step beside me, reaching for my hand.“It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly. “We’re going to find her.”Clover looked up at him, managing a small smile.“I kn
Lucas’s POVLucas checked the time again.11:30.Still nothing.No text.No call.No response.His jaw tightened as he pulled out his phone, opening the location tracker.Emily always shared her location with him.Always.But as soon as the map loaded, there it was...Nothing.Blank.He frowned, refreshing it.Once.Twice.Still nothing.“What the fuck…?” he muttered under his breath.That didn’t make sense.Even if her phone died, there should’ve been a last known location. A delay. Something.But this?This was like she just… disappeared.Lucas ran a hand through his hair, pacing now.“Something’s wrong,” he said quietly to himself. “Something’s really fucking wrong…”Without wasting another second, he scrolled through his contacts and hit call on her sister’s number.The phone rang.Then clicked.“Hello?”“Hey… is this Stephanie?” Lucas asked quickly.“Yeah, who is this?”“This is Lucas.”“Oh, hey, Lucas. What’s up?”His voice tightened. “Have you heard from Emily?”A pause.“Uh… y







